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Social Media…..Where would we be without it? Well, I personally would be a lot more productive in my spare time, because what every one else is doing in their spare time would not matter so much to me. But that is besides the point, social media is truly the best thing that has come around since the cell phone. Yes, we stay to connected to technology because of it, but we also can expand our wardrobe by all the cool stores we find on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. It is truly one of the best inventions for businesses and it is free. I have my own jewelry line, and it is amazing what social media has done for me and my business. So let us move on to future implications of social media…Yay!!!!!

While I was doing research for this blog I stumbled upon some good reads to help me on my journey. Social media is always evolving, changing, and finding new ways to keep people engaged. Well, brands have to do that also. For example Ralph Lauren has been a fashion giant for many years. Every season him and his team have to come together to come up with new and exciting fashion trends to keep consumers buying.

Facebook is here to stay and they keep stating on top of whats hot and whats not. 58% of people surveyed have said they have a personal Facebook profile. Brands are spending most of their time of Facebook, and that is probably due to so may people that are on Facebook. So brands need to add the changes into their social media strategy to keep up with what is new and exciting. It is also important for brands to look at the demographics of social media sites, and target certain markets and ages on sites that have a majority of that age group on them.

According to a recent survey, 4 out of 10 people are noting brand related items in their news feed, and that will help increase exposure if you are constantly updating your company page and showing consumers how engaged you are in social media.

I thing all of the trends in social media have to do with new developments, changes in what we like, and people get bored with things after awhile, and are looking for a change.

Many things we do in life is influenced by the situations around us. Looking to keep up with the Jones’s so to speak, so our human behavior does affect the changes that are going on around us. The key, especially in business, is to keep up with the changes so your business can change as the world does around us. When technology changes, people change with it. When Apple comes out with their latest device, it makes everyone want it, because they have built up such a brand, and people know this one will be a little better than the one before. There is a great video from Paul Adams of Facebook and he talks about how the web is involved around people. Check it out http://arquecreative.com/the-rise-of-the-social-web-and-implications-for-brands/

The bottom line is there will always be that new hot item, and there will always be that new hot social media site we just have to join. Research what is best for your business, and happy success.

The first time I heard the term “it went viral”, was about the time YouTube and its popularity many years ago. YouTube has been at the top of its game for making never heard of products, become popular around the globe. Then there is Twitter. Twitter even emails you tweets that are trending. There are many reasons as to why some things go viral over others.

Here are my top 5 characteristics as to why some campaigns spread like wildfire.

1. The product or service is offering something free or at a very big discount.

One of the best viral marketing campaigns that offered something to the public that made their campaign go viral was Virgin Blue. In 2009 Virgin Blue did the unthinkable in celebration of its 9th anniversary. Virgin Blue simply sent a tweet saying it would offer $9.00 tickets in honor of this special day. 1000 domestic tickets were sold in a matter of 3 minutes. Sure the company may have lost a lot of money by doing this, but the return on this investment helped them achieve more Twitter followers than it could have anticipated, and now they have increased their brand loyalty, and have given consumers a reason to pick them over other airlines. The payoff in the end is what matters, and they were successful at doing so through Twitter.

2. Do something that makes people intrigued.

There is nothing I like more than looking at a product or service and saying, “WOW, how did they do that?” One of the most popular viral campaigns to stop and make people go HMMMMM was the will it blend campaign. Tom Dickinson, the founder of Blendtec, was so proud of his total blender, that he let Facebook followers decide what he would blend in the total blender, and then filmed himself blending these items and putting the videos all over the Internet. The goal of the company was to create brand awareness and that is just what they did. Blendtec won an advertising award for this campaign, and increased their brand awareness by the corkiness surrounding all of these crazy videos blending almost anything they could get their hands on, including a brand new iPad.

People love to laugh. In today’s world with all the hustle and bustle people love to sit back and have a good laugh. Absolute Vodka approached Zach Galifianakis, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, and wanted them to make a no holds barred video, and the only stipulation was that they mention the word Absolute. Leave it to three comedians to get the world laughing by their crazy antics and funny one liners. The videos went like wildfire on the Internet and have seen over 3 million views on YouTube.

I have always loved a good horror film, and there is nothing that upsets me more when I see constant trailers for a movie, that will not be showing anywhere in my general vicinity. When buzz spread about Paranormal Activity a few years ago I was pumped and couldn’t wait. It was like The Blair Witch project all over again. The movie was made for only 15,000 and the executives took to social media to get fans to demand it to their local theatres. The Internet spread with this like wildfire and it became the #1 tweet trending on Twitter. They focused on social media, word of mouth, and the scare you out of your seats video of how fans that screened it reacted to it with them being filmed in the theatre itself. Well this video got my head spinning at even the thought of it not being anywhere for me to see it. That movie was such a success with over 100 million dollars in revenue. Wow the poor of social media and the Internet. Look how many views the original trailer had on YouTube.

To get a campaign to go viral it is important to keep it simple and to the point. Don’t oversell the product, but use subliminal messages to keep the product or service in the minds of others. Make it desirable without over doing it. The old saying less is more is important to being successful. Keep it original and don’t get stuck on other campaigns from the past. Originality is key, and be quick and to the point. Always include share and like buttons to get the buzz rolling.

Getting a campaign to go viral can’t be predetermined, but with the Internet, the world is your oyster.

It is summer, and vacations are on everyone’s mind. Getting that summer wardrobe is important, because you want to look your absolute best. Two of my absolute favorite places to shop is Jcrew and Anthropologie. Although they are some what different I use them both when adding components to my wardrobe. Both stores have great pieces, and both fit a side to the many moods I have. Some days I feel preppy, some days I feel like a free bird, but I can always use both of them together when I am putting an outfit together.

Anthropologie is an amazing store. Everytime I walk in I get an urgency to be happy. Their loud music and bright colors make me so happy to be there. I don’t have much time anymore to just spend countless hours shopping in stores, so I always use social media to help me with what they have new that I may like. I love their website, but seeing it on actual people makes all the diffence to me. They use all my favorite social media channels. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and they are even incorporating Video Marketing with Youtube. Their instagram is probably my favorite-http://instagram.com/anthropologie. Not only do they pick the newest items and display them in a way that makes consumers just want to run into a shop and buy every piece available, but they show things the stores are doing in the community, which is a good representation of how they give back to the community. They also use instagram to announce promotions, events, and sales. What a great company. I also love how active they are on Twitter, and how they engage with their consumers. Many consumers will tweet things to them about products they have purchased, questions and concerns, and anthropologie will retweet what their consumers are saying. What a great way to show consumers that the company is greatful to their cponsumers, and that does make someone very happy.

Anthropologie does a great job in setting themselves apart from the compettion. Most of the time they not only post the items they are featuring, but they help you pair it up, to create a great outfit. Their prices can be high at times, but they aren’t always promoting the expensive pieces, they promote whatever looks best to make a complete outfit. I love this store, and I will continue to tell all my friends about this place.

Jcrew is my next favorite go to store. You can always count on Jcrew to fins those basic pieces that fit into any wardrobe. Over the last few years they have branched out to be more trendy, but they always go back to their preppy stylish pieces. Although Anthropologie does utilize video marketing, Jcrew does it through Facebook as well as Youtube. Their videos are truly captivating. THey reminded me of Nikes Just Do It campaign. There is one where girls are surfing, and the theme is you can do anything. Throughout the video they sell their swimwear, without ever even mentioning it. It is empowering, and truly a great way to market to consumers. Check out some of their videos here-https://www.facebook.com/jcrew/app_637950882898800

They are very active on Twitter, Pinterest, and also Instagram, but the way they market through video is working to increase their brand. Anthropologie does engage more with the consumer on social media, but Jcrew is using new marketing channels to increase exposure to their brand. Both are important, and both can help reach even more consumers than they currently have.

What was the one experience that completely changed your life? What happened? How did it change your life?

Often I hear a question like this, and I sit and ponder, but this one was easy. The one experience that changed my life was having my son Cameron. He has given me an inner light to shine through everything I do. I know the love of a child is a one in a million experience, but this true gift God gave me has truly been my saving grace.

In today’s entry we will explore the myth of Social Media as your ENTIRE marketing plan. When done the right way, social media is a tremendous tool in the business owner/decision makers tool box. Much like building a house though, you need to use more than one tool to build your business. A newly built home would take a long time if it was built with only a hammer or only a screwdriver. In fact, most would argue that it would be impossible to complete such a task. It’s amazing that business owners would think that ONLY social media will be an effective way to market their business

Integrity in Social Media

The most important thing to remember when setting up your social media is, to be consistent. Integrity in life is the art of doing what you say you are going to do. The same holds true in your social media…